Montrose was an American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band formed in 1973 and named after guitarist and founder
Ronnie Montrose
Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...
. The band's original lineup featured lead vocalist and frontman
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
, who later found greater success as a solo artist and as the lead singer of
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
. Rounding out the original foursome were bassist Bill Church and drummer
Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi (born April 30, 1947) is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.
Biography
Carmassi was born into a family of drummers; his father, his uncle, and his brother each played the drums. Some of Denny's e ...
.
The band experienced moderate success before disbanding in early 1977.
History
Prior to forming the band Montrose, guitarist Ronnie Montrose had been a successful
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
, playing (along with future Montrose bassist Bill Church) on
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in t ...
's ''
Tupelo Honey
''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move ...
'' album produced by
Ted Templeman
Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...
, and on albums by
Beaver & Krause and
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
. He was also a member of the
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...
Group, playing on the hit single "
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
" from the best-selling album ''
They Only Come Out at Night
''They Only Come Out at Night'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Edgar Winter Group. A commercial success, the album reached the #3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and features two of the band's signature songs, "Frankenstei ...
'' (1972).
The original Montrose lineup, consisting of Ronnie Montrose on guitar, Sammy Hagar (then known as Sam Hagar) on lead vocals, Bill Church on bass, and Denny Carmassi on drums, was formed in early 1973 after Ronnie Montrose decided to leave the Edgar Winter Group.
Both Hagar and Carmassi had previously worked together and were recruited from local San Francisco-area cover bands, while Bill Church and Ronnie Montrose were acquainted from their session work with singer Van Morrison and producer Ted Templeman. This prior connection provided the band with access to Templeman who heard their demos and helped the newly formed group secure a deal with Warner Bros. The band, as yet officially unnamed and billed as 'Ronnie Montrose and Friends', made their public debut on April 21, 1973 via a 45-minute radio broadcast aired on KSAN FM's
Tom Donahue Thomas or Tom Donahue may refer to:
* Thomas R. Donahue (born 1928), American trade union leader
* Thomas Michael Donahue (1921–2004), American physicist, astronomer, and space and planetary scientist
* Tom Donahue (DJ) (1928–1975), pioneerin ...
show. The broadcast featured the band's complete ten song performance recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, consisting of their entire first album (excluding "Space Station No. 5") as well as the unreleased tracks "Roll Me Nice", "You're Out of Time", and "Roll Over Beethoven". The broadcast was in circulation as a bootleg recording for years before being released in 2017 on the Deluxe Version of their first album.
Their debut album,
Ted Templeman
Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...
-produced ''
Montrose'', was released on Warner Bros in late 1973.
Though the album was not a big seller upon its initial release, peaking at No. 133 on the U.S. Billboard chart,
it proved to be an international sleeper hit which over a period of several decades has sold in excess of one million copies, attaining platinum status.
Often cited as 'America's answer to Led Zeppelin', it is held to be influential amongst hard rock and heavy metal band
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
who have recorded and/or performed cover versions of songs from the album. Montrose was initially managed and booked by
Dee Anthony
Dee Anthony (April 9, 1926 – October 25, 2009) was an American talent manager who started in the business with fellow Bronx native Jerry Vale. After meeting Tony Bennett in 1954 at a nightclub in Yonkers, New York, he ended up representing t ...
.
The first member to leave the original Montrose lineup was bassist Bill Church, who was replaced by
Alan Fitzgerald
Francis Alan Fitzgerald (born July 16, 1949) is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandmat ...
for the band's second album, ''
Paper Money
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes were originally issued ...
'' (1974),
also produced by Ted Templeman.
Already disenchanted with what he perceived to be the one dimensionality and commercially waning popularity of the group's hard rock/proto-metal sound, Ronnie Montrose insisted on changing the formula for ''Paper Money'' by broadening the stylistic, compositional, rhythmic, and sonic range of the band, and generally toning down the high-energy intensity and metallic crunch that defined the group's first album. Despite its significant stylistic departure from the band's iconic debut, lukewarm response from critics, and mixed reactions from fans, ''Paper Money'' initially sold twice as many copies as ''Montrose''. It was the band's highest-charting release, reaching No. 65 on the ''Billboard'' 200.
After building acrimony between guitarist-founder, Ronnie Montrose, and vocalist, Sammy Hagar, reached a peak during the band's 1974–75 European tour, to promote ''Paper Money'' (as part of the ''Warner Bros Music Show'' package which also featured Tower of Power, Little Feat, and The Doobie Brothers), Hagar parted ways with the group in February 1975.
He was replaced by Los Angeles-based vocalist
Bob James.
Seeking to further expand and change their sound, the band also drafted keyboardist
Jim Alcivar
Jim Alcivar is an American keyboard and synthesizer player and sound engineer. He is most noted for his connection to guitarist Ronnie Montrose and appearing in his bands Montrose and Gamma and on his first solo album ''Open Fire''. His father i ...
.
The ''Paper Money'' rhythm section of drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Alan Fitzgerald remained.
The new quintet line-up of Montrose made their live debut in San Francisco at Winterland Ballroom on April 5, 1975. At this juncture, the group parted ways with producer Ted Templeman. Montrose released two more albums, the Ronnie Montrose-produced ''
Warner Brothers Presents... Montrose!'' (1975) and ''
Jump On It'' (1976), produced by
Jack Douglas, known for his work with Aerosmith.
Both albums feature Bob James on vocals and Jim Alcivar on keyboards.
On the ''Jump On It'' album, Alan Fitzgerald was replaced on bass by
Randy Jo Hobbs
Randy Jo Hobbs (March 22, 1948 – August 5, 1993) was an American musician born in Winchester, Indiana. Hobbs played bass for The McCoys during the 1965-1969 period and in the bands of the brothers Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter during 1970-1976 ...
,
and the subsequent tour to promote the album saw the band performing as a four-piece without a bass player, utilizing Jim Alicivar for keyboard-bass.
Under the high-profile management of impresario and concert promoter
Bill Graham, Montrose reached the peak of their commercial popularity during the ''Warner Bros Presents'' and ''Jump On It'' era from 1975 to 1977, which found the band adhering to a grueling tour schedule across America and Canada, performing predominantly in large arena and stadium venues sharing the bill with major artists that included The Rolling Stones, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Yes, Rush, The Eagles, Journey, and Aerosmith, as well as headlining their own shows in mid-size arenas. This period also netted Montrose their second highest chart position, with ''Warner Bros Presents'' reaching No. 79 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
200
__NOTOC__
Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 '' Ab ur ...
.
As the result of a near-fatal amphetamine overdose during his stint with the Edgar Winter Group, Ronnie Montrose observed a strong personal anti-drug/anti-alcohol stance during this period, exemplified by his insistence that all Montrose band members abide by a strict policy of drug and alcohol-free performances.
After the departure of vocalist Bob James following the band's performance at Winterland on December 31, 1976, Montrose imploded as a group and Ronnie Montrose resurfaced a year later with the solo instrumental album ''
Open Fire'', released in January 1978. During this period the guitarist also worked with jazz-fusion drummer
Tony Williams. In 1979, along with Montrose holdovers Jim Alcivar and Alan Fitzgerald, drummer Skip Gillette, and Scottish vocalist
Davey Pattison
Davey Pattison (born November 18, 1945 in Scotland) is a San Francisco Bay Area based rock vocalist. Pattison recorded his first music in 1969, and his career took off after arrival in the United States in 1979, on invitation from Bill Graham ...
, Ronnie Montrose formed a new group in the progressive hard rock mould named
Gamma
Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
. The band's debut, ''
Gamma 1
''Gamma 1'', released in 1979, is Gamma's debut album. It reached No. 131 on the Billboard Album charts, totalling seventeen weeks on the survey. "I'm Alive" reached No. 60 on the Billboard singles charts. "I'm Alive" is a cover of The Hollies so ...
'' was released in 1979. Their second release,
Gamma 2
''Gamma 2'' is Gamma's second album, released in 1980. On this album Ronnie Montrose keeps his streak of not having the same personnel on two albums in a row, changing the line-up once again. Davey Pattison (vocals), Montrose (guitar), and Jim ...
(1980), saw former Montrose drummer Denny Carmassi replacing Skip Gillette and bassist
Glenn Letsch
Glenn Letsch (born June 23, 1949) is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park" . After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friend ...
replacing Alan Fitzgerald, who went on to become a founding member (as keyboardist) of
Night Ranger
Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...
.
After Montrose
Sammy Hagar went on to build a successful post-Montrose solo career which, during its early phase, featured fellow former Montrose member Bill Church on bass and drummer Billy Carmassi, younger brother of Montrose drummer Denny Carmassi. Hagar had many successful albums with top hits such as "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy", "I Can't Drive 55", "Heavy Metal" and "There's Only One Way To Rock". In July 1985, Hagar joined Van Halen.
In 1987, Ronnie Montrose formed a new lineup of Montrose with singer
Johnny Edwards and drummer
James Kottak
James Kottak (born December 26, 1962) is an American drummer. Kottak is best known for his work with the German hard rock band Scorpions, which he joined in 1996. At the time of his firing from the band in 2016, he was their all-time longest-s ...
(both from the band
Buster Brown
Buster Brown is a comic-strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, along with Mary Jane, and with his dog Tige, became well known to the United States of America ...
), and bassist
Glenn Letsch
Glenn Letsch (born June 23, 1949) is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park" . After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friend ...
, who had replaced Fitzgerald in Gamma. This lineup of the band released one album, ''
Mean
There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set.
For a data set, the ''arithme ...
(1987)''. Kottak would go on to join German hard rock bands
Kingdom Come and
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
.
The original Montrose line-up with Sammy Hagar, Bill Church, Denny Carmassi, and Ronnie Montrose reunited on Sammy Hagar's ''
Marching to Mars'' (1997) album, performing "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb," and also appeared together onstage during encores at several of Hagar's concerts in 2003 and 2005.
Ronnie Montrose performed off and on from 2001 until his death with a Montrose lineup that featured Keith St John (endorsed by Sammy Hagar) on vocals, and a rotating cast of veteran hard rock players including
Chuck Wright
Chuck Wright (born September 13, 1959) is an American bassist, best known as a member of the hard rock/heavy metal band Quiet Riot. He originally joined Quiet Riot in 1982, playing bass on the tracks " Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" and "Don' ...
,
Ricky Phillips
Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and a member of the rock band Styx since 2003, splitting duties with longtime bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of The Babys and Bad En ...
,
Dave Ellefson
David Warren Ellefson (born November 12, 1964) is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist for thrash metal band Megadeth.
Ellefson initially became an accomplished bassist and honed his songwriting skills while leadi ...
,
Mick Mahan, and
Sean McNabb
Sean McNabb (born September 24, 1965) is an American actor and bassist. While still on tour with rock bands, he is also acting and writing, composing, and singing music for TV and film. In 2015, he released his first solo music as a lead singer, ...
on bass, and
Pat Torpey
Patrick Allan Torpey (December 13, 1953 – February 7, 2018) was an American drummer and singer, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Mr. Big. As well as playing for other various singers and artists such as; John ...
, Mick Brown (
Dokken
Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...
),
Eric Singer
Eric Singer (born Eric Doyle Mensinger; May 12, 1958) is an American drummer. Associated with the hard rock band Kiss since 1991, he has also performed with artists such as Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Badlands, Brian May and Gary ...
,
Jimmy DeGrasso
Jimmy DeGrasso (born March 16, 1963) is an American heavy metal drummer.
DeGrasso played with Mama's Boys and Lita Ford before eventually working with Y&T and Megadeth and as a session or touring musician for Ozzy Osbourne (1986), White Lion ...
, and Bobby Blotzer (
Ratt
Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...
) on drums.
Ronnie successfully battled prostate cancer from 2007 to 2009, and beginning in 2009 had become more musically active, playing regular gigs and doing interviews. Notably, in 2009 Montrose (with Keith St John, Mick Brown, and Sean McNabb) performed at West Fest, the 40th Woodstock reunion at Golden Gate Park for a crowd of 70,000. A reunion of the original Montrose lineup was planned for a one-time performance at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo nightclub in October 2012. In the latter part of the year before Ronnie's death, Ronnie created the "Ronnie Montrose Band" in order to diversify and include Gamma songs and other songs from his past song catalog in his live shows with Dan McNay on bass, Steve Brown on drums, and Randy Scoles on vocals.
Following a long battle with clinical depression, Ronnie Montrose took his life on March 3, 2012.
On April 27, 2013, Montrose with
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
,
Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi (born April 30, 1947) is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.
Biography
Carmassi was born into a family of drummers; his father, his uncle, and his brother each played the drums. Some of Denny's e ...
, and Bill Church participated in an all-star tribute concert in honor of Ronnie Montrose, with
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...
playing lead guitar.
Members
*
Ronnie Montrose
Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...
– guitar (1973–1977, 1987)
*
Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi (born April 30, 1947) is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.
Biography
Carmassi was born into a family of drummers; his father, his uncle, and his brother each played the drums. Some of Denny's e ...
– drums (1973–1977)
*
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
– vocals (1973–1975)
*Bill Church – bass (1973–1974)
*
Alan Fitzgerald
Francis Alan Fitzgerald (born July 16, 1949) is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandmat ...
– bass (1974–1976)
*
Bob James – vocals (1975–1977)
*
Jim Alcivar
Jim Alcivar is an American keyboard and synthesizer player and sound engineer. He is most noted for his connection to guitarist Ronnie Montrose and appearing in his bands Montrose and Gamma and on his first solo album ''Open Fire''. His father i ...
– keyboards (1975–1977)
*
Randy Jo Hobbs
Randy Jo Hobbs (March 22, 1948 – August 5, 1993) was an American musician born in Winchester, Indiana. Hobbs played bass for The McCoys during the 1965-1969 period and in the bands of the brothers Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter during 1970-1976 ...
– bass (1976)
*
Glenn Letsch
Glenn Letsch (born June 23, 1949) is an American bass guitarist. He was in a Los Angeles band with Mitchell Froom called "Bullet Park" . After Ronnie Montrose produced their demo, he asked Letsch to join his band Gamma, where Letsch became friend ...
– bass (1987)
*
Johnny Edwards – vocals (1987)
*
James Kottak
James Kottak (born December 26, 1962) is an American drummer. Kottak is best known for his work with the German hard rock band Scorpions, which he joined in 1996. At the time of his firing from the band in 2016, he was their all-time longest-s ...
– drums (1987)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
*''
The Very Best of Montrose'' (2000)
*''An Introduction to : Montrose'' (2019)
Singles
* "Rock the Nation" (1974)
* "
Bad Motor Scooter" (UK, 1974)
* "Space Station Number 5" (1974)
* "Paper Money" (1974)
* "Connection" (1975)
* "
I Got the Fire" (Japan, 1975)
* "Matriarch" (1975)
* "Music Man" (1976)
* "Jump on it" (Japan, 1976)
* "Let's Go" (1977)
* "Space Station Number 5" (1980 UK re-release) No. 71
UK
See also
*
Sammy Hagar discography
Sammy Hagar (also known as the Red Rocker) is an American musician and songwriter with a career spanning over 40 years. He rose to prominence during the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Montrose. He left the band in the mi ...
References
External links
*
Ronnie Montrose webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose
1973 establishments in California
2012 disestablishments in California
Hard rock musical groups from California
Heavy metal musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1973
Musical groups disestablished in 1977
Musical groups reestablished in 1987
Musical groups reestablished in 2001
Musical groups disestablished in 2012